Will I See You Again?
by TimeandRelativeDimensioninLove
Summary: Ash is being forced to spend the summer with his dad and his dad's new girlfriend, but not all hope is lost. He meets Brock, a native Californian that lives next door and Misty, a mystery wrapped in a beautiful girl. Is there more then friendship on the horizon for Ash and Misty? What will happen when he finds out her secret? Please review!
1. California Dreamin

Chapter 1

Ash usually adored the beach. He loved the sun and the waves, he even enjoyed the sand everywhere. Unfortunately the beach wasn't nearly as much fun when his dad and his dad's new girlfriend were making out only a few feet away.

He'd promised his mom he'd have fun… and he had honestly tried. He'd put on his new swim trunks and slathered on sunscreen and kicked off his sandals with every intention of making this summer the best of his life. But only a few days into the visit and he was already sick to his stomach.

He walked up to the surf and let the water sneak up around his ankles. Ash looked back at his dad and saw that he was still playing tonsil hockey with his bimbo of a new girlfriend, Crystal. Ash was fifteen and while his disgust of kissing in general had died off mostly, the disgust of seeing his dad kiss a woman who wasn't his mom would probably never go away.

The beach was crowded and Ash wanted to be as far from his dad as possible, so he wandered down the shoreline. Eventually the packed, sandy beach turned rocky and desolate.

The rocks were huge and oddly placed, so Ash started to climb. He climbed up and over them, discovering a small and secluded cove, seemingly away from the rest of the civilized world. It was the same as any other part of the beach, but entirely surrounded by rocks.

He sat down in the sand and wrapped his arms around his knees. He laid his forehead down on his legs and sat quietly. His parents had been divorced for as long as he could remember and he'd always known about his father's long string of failed relationships since, but this was the first summer Ash had actually had to spend with him.

According to Ash's mother, his dad had one day woken up and decided to spend more time with his son, but Ash knew it was probably because of his new girlfriend. Crystal wanted to prove she could be a good stepmother, so his father would consider getting more serious with her.

It was a clever plan, but blatantly obvious… at least to Ash. His father didn't see it. How could he with his eyes closed and his tongue down her throat. He felt bad for disliking Crystal. She hadn't really done anything wrong. Her only crime were dating a man with a kid, but the real source of the animosity was Ash's father.

He'd gotten Ash's mother pregnant after they had only been together a few months. He proposed a few days later and they got married when Ash was only an infant. For a while they were happy, but unfortunately Ash's father couldn't stay true to one woman and he left just before Ash's third birthday.

Ash could remember his mom crying over him and while Ash couldn't remember a time when they were a family she could and Ash hated the man who had taken that away from her.

"You okay?"

A voice pulled him out of his memories and made his head snap up quickly. There was a girl lying topless in the surf only a few feet away from where Ash was sitting. He couldn't see anything since the water covered everything but her head and shoulders, but it still left him pretty speechless.

She had thick, short hair the color of mandarin oranges and eyes that were startlingly blue, the same shade as a robin's egg. He stared at her wordlessly and she tilted her head, making her orange hair brush against her shoulders.

"You okay?"

He nodded and stammered, trying to find the words. "Umm yeah. I am." She smiled, revealing perfectly straight, white teeth. "That's good. I saw you over here and you looked upset."

He shrugged and she nodded for him to continue. He took a deep breath and hung his head. "It's not that I'm upset, I just don't want to be here." She smiled her eccentric smile again. "How could you not want to be here? It's California! It's beautiful."

"It's not so much the place as it is the company."

"Not as this moment I hope."

"No, not you. You've actually been the first person I haven't wanted to strangle since I got here." She looked taken aback, but not in a judgemental sort of way. "Oh dear, that's no good. Who have you been around?"

"My father and his new girlfriend mostly."

"Well surely you've been around other people."

He nodded.

"I sat next to a man on the flight who snored the whole time, a man on the bus who kept clearing his throat, and when I finally met up with my dad to go out to lunch the waiter forgot to make my food."

She shrugged. "Perhaps your time here will start looking up." He scoffed. "I doubt it. If my father hasn't changed in thirteen years I don't think he'll start now." She locked her blue eyes with his brown ones. "Isn't he already?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well from the way you talk about your father it doesn't seem like you've been around him a lot and yet here you are in the golden state with your dad."

He shook his head and they sat in silence for a minute. Finally Ash said "I'm sorry, but your topless." She nodded. "So are you." He laughed nervously. "Yeah, but I'm a guy." She laughed back genuinely. "Sexist."

"I'm not a sexist."

"Do you have a name, not a sexist?"

He paused and then nodded.

"Ash Ketchum."

"See you around Ash Ketchum."

She began to push herself back out so she swimming and he stood up.

"Wait. What's your name?"

She turned back towards him and paused before softly saying. "Misty."


	2. It Never Rains in Southern California

Chapter Two

Ash went out for a walk that night. He needed to get out of the house just as badly as he needed to get away from them at the beach. Their whole house was a 1950's suburbia dream house.

It looked identical to the two beige houses on either side of it and the whole thing reeked of Crystal's cheap ass perfume. At least it was clean. Ash's own house was always covered in school books and loose socks and other assorted oddities. His father's house was perfectly clean, not a school book in sight.

It was probably because Crystal spent all her time cooking and cleaning and primping herself like every good housewife should do. She didn't have a job, so she had nothing better to do then pounce on every loose sock and perfect every window. Ash was kind of surprised she hadn't hired a maid.

That's not why he went for a walk though. The clean house was actually sort of nice, the cooking all day had led to a really good dinner, he could even get over the sickly, strawberry sweetness of the house if it hadn't of been his father's house. That was the part that really bothered him.

Being around his father was agonizing enough without being forced to also hang out with Crystal. Crystal was always way too nice and trying way too hard, while his father didn't seem to be trying at all.

He seemed to think that Ash was his kid and of course they would get along. He seemed to think that Ash's behavior was just him acting like a moody teenager and worst of all, he seemed to think that he had nothing to apologize for.

All through dinner his father had nonchalantly asked him about school and sports. Ash had answered with one word answers. "Fine." "Good." "Yeah." The longest string of words he said in the hour long meal was "I'm on swim team." To which his father had said "Hmm." And Crystal had squealed and boasted about how absolutely fantastic swim team was.

"I wish I could swim. It's so good for you. Get's you in shape and it's fun!" She giggled and Ash tried not to gag. "Yep." She smiled at him brightly and continued gushing. "Our swim program here is just wonderful. One of the best in the country. Isn't that right honey?"

His father nodded silently. It was then that Crystal realized she'd been trying to suggest Ash should move in with them and neither Ash nor his father wanted that to happen. She cleared her throat, stood up and asked anyone if they wanted more roast beef.

Ash shook his head. "No. I'm full. Can I be excused?" Crystal looked at him, hurt, but his father nodded. "Sure." Ash left the table and then left the house without breaking stride. It was sunset, but still enjoyably warm.

Ash liked the heat. He liked the heat and the water and almost everything about California with the exception of his father. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and kept walking through the increasingly quiet subdivision. It was getting later, but most people still had their lights on.

In some of the windows he could see families eating dinner or watching TV, there was even one family that appeared to be in the midst of some good natured debate. They made him miss his mother. If he was back at home they would probably be watching a movie right about now.

They would be sitting on the couch watching and laughing just like some of the families in the windows. He left himself get swept away in the fantasy and almost forgot where he was. Then he remembered.

His delusion was shattered by a boy on a skateboard who nearly slammed into Ash. He jumped off and turned around. "You might want to stand somewhere else. You almost got ran over." Ash was in no mood to deal with some squinty eyed California douchebag.

"You might want to watch where you're going!" The older boy could clearly crush Ash if he so chose to, but instead he stuck his hand out. "I'm Brock." Brock was the perfect name for the obnoxious surfer type, but Ash didn't say that.

Instead he said "Hi. I'm Ash." The two boys shook hands and Brock picked up his skateboard, putting it under his arm. "You're too pale to be a local, but this subdivision isn't exactly a tourist destination. What's your story?" Ash wasn't sure if he could explain it without getting emotional so he just gruffly said "I'm spending the summer with my dad."

Brock nodded and set the skateboard down, putting on foot on it to hold it in place. "I live just down the street-" He pointed at a house. "I'm free all day tomorrow, so you can come by if you want to hang out."

He waved at Ash and skated off down the street towards his house. Ash watched him go for a minute and then continued on his walk. He returned to his thoughts relatively easily after the interaction except instead of thinking about his family he found himself thinking about the ginger haired girl he'd met at the beach.

She had been charismatic and beautiful, but she had also been incredibly quick witted and eccentric. He had enjoyed talking to her. California was a big state, but it was proving to be an incredibly small world. Maybe he would get a chance to talk with her again.

He had no idea how soon he would see her again as he headed back to his father's house. He was looking forward to falling asleep, because no matter how messed up everything was at least he could dream he was back at home.


	3. Welcome to Paradise

Chapter Three

Ash wasn't planning on going over to Brock's the next day. He'd only met him once and the older boy was clearly just bored. It wasn't like Ash was looking for friends. He just wanted to get through the summer.

Then his father left for work the next morning. Ash woke up around eleven to the sound of Taylor Swift's newest album loudly playing from somewhere in the house. He got up, slipped on a gray shirt to match his blue plaid pajama bottoms and wandered upstairs.

Crystal heard him coming and turned around, holding a plate of pancakes and smiling like the Chesire Cat. She was already dressed up and made up and her hair looked like she'd already been to a hollywood hairdresser.

"Good morning Ash. I made breakfast and I was hoping we could hang out some today. Your father will be at work all day, but I have all kinds of fun things planned." That sounded like the last think Ash would want to do.

"I'm sorry Crystal, but I'm already late to meet a friend. I have to get dressed." She looked disappointed. "Oh. Okay, that's fine. At least eat some breakfast first." Ash shook his head.

"I can't. I have to get dressed and go or else I'll be even later. Thanks for the offer though. I appreciate it." Ash got dressed as quickly as he could and couldn't seem to get out of the house fast enough.

 _Knock knock_

Ash waited for a moment and when it opened he almost didn't see anyone behind it. He had to focus his eyes farther down to see the little girl who had opened the door. Her dark hair was sticking out on all sides, barely pinned down by a thin headband and she was clearly Brock's sister,

"Are you a friend of my brother's?"

"I guess you could say that."

"What's your name?"

"Ash."

"I'm Suzy."

She moved aside so he could come in. "Brock's in the basement. Just knock on the door and he'll open it." Their house was in a comforting disorder and Ash navigated his way to the basement with minimal frustration.

He knocked on the door and Brock let him in. Ash wasn't exactly good with people, but Brock just handed him a controller and within minutes they were getting along like old friends.

Call of Duty was interrupted by Brock's phone ringing. He paused the game and pulled his phone out to answer it. "Hey- Yeah- I have practice tomorrow- Of course I'll make time for you- Okay- Goodbye- I love you too."

Brock explained the phone call with a gruff "My girlfriend" and Ash didn't question it any farther. Instead he asked why Brock had decided to invite him over. Brock shrugged. "You didn't seem to have many friends here and from our short interaction you seemed like an okay guy."

The two of them got along well and when Ash went home he could honestly say he'd had fun. It was nice knowing he had a friend just down the street in case things with his dad ever got overwhelming.

Having a friend was one of the few things he liked about California. Brock and ginger-haired girls and Jamba Juice. There was once that all three things came together and the combined effect wasn't enjoyable at all.

There was an Jamba Juice within walking distance of his house and anything within walking distance of Ash's house quickly became some place he went often. He wanted to be around his father as little as possible and his father didn't care where Ash went as long as he didn't have to drive.

Ash's mother could be described as strict, fretful or even over protective, but at least she cared about him being safe. She would never had let him walk three miles to Jamba Juice by himself at dark.

Ash was working on his second smoothie when a familiar face walked through the door. Ash seemed to run into Brock everywhere, but it wasn't his familiar face that caught Ash's eyes.

It was a familiar fiery redhead with bright blue eyes that captured Ash's attention and perhaps most oddly she seemed to be with Brock. Brock spotted Ash and called out to him. The girl heard his name and looked up confused. She also spotted Ash and her eyes grew huge, almost like she was scared of something.

Ash waved at them and they walked over and sat down at the same table. "Hey Ash. This is my girlfriend, Misty." Ash was taken aback and clearly he wasn't the only one. Brock was the only person at the table who seemed to not be shocked and confused.

Ash smiled at her politely. "We've actually met." Brock raised his eyebrows, picking up on the vibe. "When?" Misty stayed quiet so Ash explained. "We met at the beach." Brock was pretty easy going, so he just started to laugh.

"What? No you didn't." Ash was growing more confused by the second. "We didn't?" Brock shook his head. "No. Misty is terrified of water, she won't even wade. There's no way you saw her at the beach."

Misty caught Ash's eyes and sent him a pleading look so he pretended to remember what really happened. "Oh wait, you're right. I met her at a cafe on my way back from the beach." Brock nodded. "That sounds like Misty. It's a pretty small world I guess."

"Yeah I guess it is." Misty stood up quickly. "I'm going to go get smoothies. What do you guys want?" Brock told her what he wanted and Ash stood up. "I have to get back. I promised my dad I would be back by now, so I should probably go." Brock nodded, looking a little disappointed.


	4. Californication

Chapter Four

Ash had said goodbye and hurried out of the Jamba Juice and it wasn't until later he realized it might have been rude. He called Brock at home and Brock's brother, Forrest picked up. Brock had a thousand siblings of which he was the oldest, but Forrest was the oldest of his younger siblings.

Forrest gave the phone to Brock who answered it with a mumbled "Hello." Ash swallowed, possibly his pride, and said "Hey, it's Ash. I'm sorry about the other day. I just realized what time it was and really had to go."

Brock crunched loudly on something, swallowed and then responded. "That's okay." Ash realized he wasn't going to say anything else and then decided to continue. "Can I come hang out today? My dad's girlfriend wants to hang out with me and I told her I have plans to get out of it."

Brock laughed. "Yeah that's fine." Ash silently thanked god that he wouldn't have to hang out with Crystal and began to walk over to Brock's house. One of Brock's siblings let him in and he made his way to the basement where he knew Brock would be.

And there Brock was… but not alone. The red haired Misty sat beside him. She was on her phone, probably looking at Instagram or something and she casually flipped her hair, not even realizing Ash had entered the room.

She must've felt Ash's eyes on her because she flicked her perfectly encircled blue ones up and caught Ash's. For a moment she held them and then she smiled politely. "Hey Ash!" Brock scooted over and Ash sat down beside him. "What are we watching?"

Brock shrugged. "We were watching some stupid movie, but we would be happy to watch anything else." Ash didn't want to get in the middle of a lover's quarrel, so he asked what movie they were watching to which Brock responded. "Some black and white boring movie" and Misty said "Casablanca."

Ash smiled. "I love Casablanca! My mom and I used to watch it every time I was home sick." Misty looked over at Ash and smiled back at him softly. He softened his own smile to match her's and she immediately looked away.

Brock rolled his eyes and pushed play. The three of them sat in silence for about thirty minutes until Brock paused it and went upstairs to go to the bathroom. Ash and Misty stayed quiet just until they heard the door shut, at which point they turned to each other and both started talking at once. They fell silent and then Misty spoke again.

"You can't tell him!"

"What can't I tell him?"

She froze.

"I don't know."

"Why didn't you want him to know how we actually met?"

"I wasn't the one who decided to lie to him!"

Ash got annoyed and shrugged.

"Okay fantastic then. I'll tell him how we actually met the second he comes back. Sounds good?" She glared at him and sighed. "Okay fine. I don't want him to know, but I can't tell you why."

He scoffed and she grabbed his arm. "Please. You just have to trust me." He laughed. "What? I don't even know you?" She hung her head and stared at her painted nails wrapped around Ash's arm. "I need you to. Isn't that enough." She looked pleading and desperate and he felt bad for being so harsh with her.

"Fine. I won't tell him, but eventually I want you to tell me why." She nodded and moved her arms away. "I will. I promise I wil-" She was cut short by the door to the basement opening. She turned to look at Ash when Brock leaned forward and mouthed "Thank you."

Ash didn't go back to his dad's until an hour after Misty left, so he was alone with Brock for the first time since he found out the topless girl he met on the beach was Brock's girlfriend.

"Are you guys serious?"

Brock shrugged.

"I guess so. I mean she's cute and fun and I like hanging out with her, but it's not like I'm buying her a promise ring."

"Why not?"

Brock laughed.

"I'm going to college in a year and she's not. I don't want to have a high school aged girlfriend while I'm going to college in New York or Miami or somewhere. I want to be able to taste all I can while I'm still young and pretty."

Ash could understand what he meant. He was thinking practically, logically and all of his points made perfect sense, but Ash couldn't understand how anyone could have a girl like Misty and want anyone else. She may have been mysterious and odd and deceptive, but Ash still couldn't imagine any other girl that would be anything compared to the tiny ginger.

He didn't bring it up again and neither did Brock. Neither of them were good at talking about their feelings and Ash had all the information he wanted. He didn't need or want to know the details of their puppy love.

What he did want to know was why Brock thought Misty was terrified of the water when Ash had seen her laying neck deep in the water, happy as could be. In fact, and Ash hadn't been around her much, but he hadn't seen that same happiness in her since.

While she was laying in the water she was likable and easygoing with a perpetual smile across her lips. In every interaction since then she had been quiet and surly and uncomfortable. The last one could be explained by being around Ash, but the rest were just another piece of the odd girl's mystery.


	5. I Left My Heart in San Fransisco

Chapter Five

It was a very long walk from his father's house to the beach, so Ash couldn't go unless someone was willing to drive him. The beach was one of the only silver linings about being in California, so the whole thing annoyed the shit out of Ash.

Finally, when his father was once again going to be at work all day, he asked Crystal to drive him to the beach. She dropped her mop, grabbed her keys and left. She talked with him as they drove, asking him mainly about the new friends he'd been spending all his time with and Ash once again responded with as little as he possibly could.

They got to the beach and she changed into her bikini before stretching out on a beach towel and slathering herself in suntan oil. "I'm going to go explore." She smiled, slipping on her sunglasses. "Okay honey. Don't go too far."  
He promised he wouldn't and left… but not to explore. He knew exactly where he was going. He walked down the beach until he came to the small cove and slipped in between a crack in the rocks.

He froze halfway and looked through. The cove was already occupied. A part of him was hoping it would be, but now he couldn't even speak. Misty was laying on the beach in the sun and this time she had a bikini top on, but Ash didn't notice. She was smiling happily. Ash didn't notice that either. All Ash saw was the sparkling fish tail that had replaced her legs.

It was beautiful. Teal blue and plump with feathery fins and a yellow seastar mark on her hips. Even as shocked as Ash was he could at least recognize that her tail was beautiful. That thought came second however to the sight of someone he knew in a state his mind had reserved for fairy tales.

His mind grasped for rational thought. Surely it was a costume, plenty of people swam with a mono tail, maybe she was practicing for a movie or something that she was going to be in. He found nothing that could have been true. It looked too real to be fake.

He let out the breath he had been holding in and she turned to look at him. Her eyes grew huge and she dove into the ocean as quickly as she possibly could. Ash slid all the way in and ran up to the shore.

"Misty wait! I won't hurt you!"

Looking down at the water, he took a deep breath and dove. He swam blindly and had to come up for air every few seconds, so there was no way he could catch her. He did see her though. He went under and opened his eyes for a moment.

The scales covered her tail and then were sprinkled across her hips and stomach. She swam like any other fish in the ocean. No costume could look like that. No actress could be this good.

Then he had to close his burning eyes and came back up to the surface, breathing heavy. He accepted that he wasn't nearly the swimmer she was and swam back to shore. He sat back by the rocks and waited.

Eventually, thinking he was gone, she returned. She pulled herself out of the water and looked around. "My towel. Where's my towel?" She'd been saying it under her breath to herself, but Ash answered by throwing it to her. She began to dry herself off, eyeing him skeptically.

"You can't tell Brock."

"I know."

"You can't tell anyone."

"I know that. Your secret's safe with me."

She finished drying herself off and her tail turned back to legs. First the color became paler and tanner until it was the color of skin and then all of the scale sort of melted together. Meanwhile a split formed in the tail and her fins became feet. This all happened in a matter of second and Ash could only see a fraction of it since she was covered by a towel.

"Do you have my bikini bottoms over there too?"

He shook his head and pointed to them sitting a ways away from her where she'd left them. She reached out and grabbed them. "Oh. Can you-" He nodded and held her towel up so she could change while he kept his eyes focused on the fascinating rocks behind him.

"Did you look?"

"A gentleman never looks."

"I didn't know you were a gentleman."

He shrugged and smiled softly. She giggled nervously. "You're handling this surprisingly well." He shrugged again, but in a less playful way. "I guess everything's just starting to make a lot more sense."

"Most people would think I was some kind of biblical demon or that it can't be real." He nodded slowly. "I'm an atheist… and there's a Sherlock Holmes quote that says 'Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.'"

"I think most people would list this under impossible."

"I think things are only impossible if they don't exist. Anything that exists, is clearly possible, however improbable." She nodded. "Right, okay. Promise you won't tell anyone?" He nodded back at her. "I promise."

"Can I ask-"

His question was cut short by Crystal entering the cove. "Thank god I heard you talking. I couldn't find you anywhere." Ash nodded, annoyed with Crystal's timing. "Here I am.'

She smiled sweetly. "Here you are. Your father's getting home soon, so I have to start on dinner." Ash sighed and after glancing at Misty, nodded. "Okay." He turned back to Misty. "We'll talk later."

"Do you have a pen." He fished one out of his pocket and handed it to her. She grabbed his hand and scribbled down a series of numbers. "That's my cell number. Call me later." He nodded and left with Crystal, so she could go make his father dinner. He couldn't really blame her, she didn't know what they were talking about. Even Ash wasn't quite sure he knew what they had been talking about. Maybe he had imagined it.

A/N: A huge thank you to anyone who has read this! I appreciate your support and hope you like it! An extra thank you to Aaml mania, AnthonyC22, AshleyH30, SatoKasu4ever, espeon44, and tmp1114 who favorited it. Please review and let me know what you think! If anyone has any ideas or suggestions just let me know in the reviews and I'll try to to write them in somehow. Again, thank you all so much!


	6. West Coast

Chapter Six

The whole way home Crystal wanted to talk about the girl, but Ash didn't want to talk about the girl. He wanted to see her. He wanted to know why she was the way she was and how it worked. He was curious and confused and didn't feel like talking to the overly peppy Crystal.

They went home and ate dinner and Ash didn't say a word the whole time. After dinner he went outside, sat on the front steps and dialed the number that was written on the back of his hand.

She picked up after three rings and seemed to be busy. "Hello." He almost hung up and finally said "Hey." She recognized his voice and the rustling stilled immediately. "Ash. Hey."

"I wanted to talk." She dropped her voice. "I can't talk here. My sisters can hear everything I'm saying." Ash shifted, not knowing how to talk about this. "Are they…?" She sat down and he heard a bed creak underneath her.

"Yeah. It's a family thing, but I'm really not supposed to tell anyone."

"You didn't tell me. I found out."

"Still. I just can't talk here. If they hear me I'll be in a lot of trouble."

"Where can you talk?"

She was quiet for a moment and then sighed.

"Can you make it to the beach somehow?"

"Maybe."

"Well meet me at the cove. If you're not there in thirty minutes I'm leaving." And then she hung up the phone. Ash took a deep breath and laid back, looking up at the darkening sky for a moment.

"Hey."

He turned and saw Crystal.

"Hey."

He sat up and she sat by him. "Who were you talking to." He shrugged. "A girl." She smiled softly. "The girl by the beach." He nodded and she sighed. "I can't drive you anywhere tonight. Your father wouldn't like it."

Ash nodded. "I know." She held out her keys and he looked at them in shock. "You have your permit right." He nodded. "And you know how to drive?" He nodded again. "Don't get pulled over."

She dropped the keys in his hand and went back inside. Ash curled his hand around them and snapped out of his shock before she could change her mind. He could drive, he'd driven plenty of times with his mom since he'd be able to get his license in October, but it was definitely the first time he'd driven by himself.

He did okay and got to the beach right when he was supposed to. He'd been to the cove enough now that he knew the way easily. She was already there and entirely human, sitting on a rock.

Her orange hair was loose and slightly ruffling in the summer breeze. For the most part it fell across her pale shoulders and swished when she shook her head. She didn't notice Ash at first and he could almost not bear to say anything to her. She was so perfect in the light, a living painting, a vivid dream.

"Misty."

She turned to look at him and the image was shattered. "Ash." He laughed slightly at the matter of fact way she said his name. Once again he was reminded that his life wasn't a play and there was nothing painted about Misty. She was real all right, in all of her mystery and strangeness.

"You wanted to talk. Talk."

He nodded and snapped out of it.

"Okay. How are you?" She laughed. "I'm good. Part fish on occasion, but good." He laughed back. "So how does it all work? I don't know what to ask. I really don't understand it."

"I don't expect you to." He took a step towards her. "But I want to. I want to understand it, understand you." She smiled genuinely and nodded. "Okay. Have you ever seen H2O?"

"The mermaid show?" He shook his head. She licked her lips, trying to find the right words. "Well it's kind of like that. If even a single drop of water gets on me I'll change and once I'm dry I'll change back. All the women in my family have the gene and we start changing during puberty." She laughed. "We grow into women and also into fish."

He smiled and although she'd explained it pretty well he still had questions. "Can you breath underwater?"

"As well as any other marine mammal."

"Can you talk to fish?"

"Can you talk to gorillas?"

He laughed. "I guess I get your point. I've always wondered how the clothes thing works. What happens if you're wearing jeans and you get water on you? Do they just like disappear or something?"

She giggled. "They rip. I have to be really careful, lots of skirts, but no they don't just vanish. It's science, not magic." He shrugged. "Whole things seems pretty magical to me." She shook her head.

"No, not magic. Just science and superstitions. I'm rare, but entirely unspecial." He spoke without even thinking. "You are special. Not because of the tail or any of the rest of it, but you are. I could tell when I first met you." He blushed and looked at his feet.

"Thank you Ash and thank you for keeping my secret."

A/N: If Dead, Then Taco. That will be all.


	7. 405

Chapter Seven

The three of them met up at Jamba Juice the next day. Brock remained entirely oblivious to what Misty had just like he had for their entire relationship and Misty continued to let him believe she was just terrified of the water.

To Ash, it became blatantly obvious. She drank everything with a straw, she never washed her hands and was always aware of water sources in the room. To him they were a potential spill, to her they were a potential for disaster. He watched as her pretty blue eyes scanned every glass on every tray and checked the weather to make sure there was no chance of rain.

Lucky for her it rarely rained in Southern California. Outside at the moment it was brutally hot. It was the kind of day where the beach started to sound heavenly. Of course for her to go swimming she'd have to sneak down to the cove, hide a towel and her clothes, swim and then sneak back onto shore.

"Are you thirsty or something Misty?

"What?"

Brock gestured to the tray.

"You're eyeing the water like it's a rabbit and you're a starving wolf."

 _Predator and Prey._ Ash though quietly. _He's kind of got it backwards._ Misty laughed nervously and told him it was just hot out and the water looked kind of nice. It was the wrong thing to say.

"Then come swimming."

"I'm scared of the water."

"Of the shallows? You can't drown in the shallows. A toddler couldn't drown in the shallows, plus even you said that it's hot out. Come swimming. Come on. I love the beach and girls hit on me constantly while I'm surfing. It'd be nice to get away from that for once."

"I wouldn't want to disappoint them."

"Why are you being like this?"

"I just don't want to go swimming."

Ash decided, against his better judgement to intervene.

"She just doesn't want to go swimming. Maybe you should leave her alone." Misty stood up and turned to Ash, instantly furious. "I can speak for myself!" She stormed out, Brock rolled his eyes and went after her and Ash was left by himself.

They must've made up, because Ash saw them making out as he left for home. He couldn't look at them. It hurt too much.

It didn't get any cooler as the day went on, it seemed to get even hotter as the sun sank lower. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and asked Crystal to take him to the beach. She convinced his dad and they headed out on a family outing. Ash immediately headed for the cove.

He enjoyed the secluded place, even if he didn't find Misty there, but he was glad to see she was sitting by the water. "Hey." She rolled over and looked at him. "I feel like I can't go anywhere without running into you."

"I'm sorry." She shook her head. "Don't be. It's kind of nice." He smiled. "Oh. I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't of gotten involved." She looked up. "No, you shouldn't have, but I know where you were coming from and I know you were only trying to help."

Ash nodded. "I was. He should've just respected your wishes, even if you are lying to him about being scared of the water." Her head snapped up instantly. "I was lying to him about being scared of the water. I'm terrified of it! He just assumed that I was scared of drowning rather than… being seen."

"I'm sorry."

She shrugged. "It's fine. I lie to him all the time anyways, so I don't know why that matters." Ash didn't know what to say so he just put his hand on her shoulder, comfortingly. She smiled.

"It's nice, having someone to talk to. I can't talk to my sisters or my mom about stuff like this. They'd only make it about them. I wish I could repay you somehow." He smiled and shook his head, but she pressed the subject.

"I'm serious. I-Oh I know! Tell me something sad!"

He laughed.

"What?"

"Mermaid tears are supposed to give people special powers. It could be my gift to you!" "No, I'm not going to drink your tears. That's weird and really gross!" She shoved him playfully.

"Come on! Tell me something sad! I want to see if it actually works!"

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay. My dad's girlfriend convinced him to have me come down here for the summer and get to know him, but he's spent the whole time at work and clearly doesn't want me here."

"Wow." She said somberly. "That's really sad. I've never met my dad. He found out what my mom was when she was pregnant with me. He was doing the dishes and flicked water at her as a joke. He'd done it once in the past and she got mad and dried herself off before she changed, but this time she didn't notice and changed in front of him. He got mad at her for lying to him and left. The older girls still see him sometimes, but he doesn't want to meet me."

She began to cry and Ash didn't know what to say so he just wiped a tear of her cheek and kept his hand there for a moment. She laughed bitterly. "Look. Magic tears." He shook his head. "You're all the magic I need."

And then he kissed her.

 **A/N: This is the end of Part One. Please review!**


	8. California Love

Chapter Eight

Her lips felt ridiculously soft against his and for a moment the whole world seemed to be spinning. His whole world seemed to be spinning. She was so beautiful, so perfect and for a moment entirely his. And then she pushed him away.

"Ash! What are you doing?"

He stumbled back a few steps. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Misty. I don't know what came over me. I know you're taken and-" She cut him off by pressing her lips against his.

He He threaded his fingers through her's and ran his other hand through her copper colored hair. Eventually he moved the hand that wasn't holding her's to her hip and pulled her closer to him.

He went in for kiss after kiss while his body moved with her's, against her's, but in such a good way. He moved his lips down to her neck and slipped his hands underneath her shirt.

God, her skin was so soft and she felt so good. He pulled her closer to him and she ran her fingers through his already disheveled black hair. He stumbled backwards until he was leaning against the rock.

They moved awkwardly, but neither of them noticed. Ash's focus was on her soft skin, her perfect body pressed against him. She pulled back and rested her forehead against his with her eyes closed.

"Ash." She muttered, still breathing heavily. "Yeah, I know." He pulled back and tried to bring his breathing back to a normal. She hesitated and then reached for one of his hands with her own small ones."I'm going to go for a swim. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." She waved to him and then dove into the water. He saw her tail flip into the air and disappear as she swam off.

 _I want to be the very best. Like no one ever was-_ Ash picked up his phone. "Hello." There was a muffled shuffling on the other end and then a voice. "Ash?" Ash recognized the voice immediately. "Brock?"

The shuffling stilled. "Hey. I was bored today and my friend Jake is still in New York-" A lot of things suddenly made sense to Ash. "-so I was wondering if you wanted to meet Misty and I at the Jamba Juice tomorrow."  
"Oh I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why not? I mean I know you and Misty don't necessarily get along well for whatever reason, but I promise I'll act like a barrier." Ash almost made up some phony excuse, but finally figured it would just be more suspicious if he did.

"Well you're right that we don't always get along, but I guess we have to since we're both around you a lot."

"That's exactly what I was thinking!"

"So I'm free all day tomorrow. We could meet up then."

"That's fantastic! I'll see you then!"

Ash put his phone down, slipped his shirt off, and laid down in bed. Normally he loved sleeping all the time. It was one of the things he liked best about summer and the only thing he liked about his father's house.

For some reason that night he couldn't seem to fall asleep. He couldn't get his mind off of Misty. He laid there trying to sleep and imagining she was laying next to him. He wished she was. He desperately wanted to bury his face in her huge pillowy tits while she wrapped her legs around his neck.

Sure he was about as inexperienced as a fifteen year old virgin could be and she had undoubtedly been having sex with Brock for months if not years, but they had a connection. When he touched her and kissed her he could feel it and he knew she felt the same.

He pulled his phone out and dialed her number without looking at it. It rang once and then she picked up. "Hey." He smiled at her sleepy sounding greeting. "Hey pretty girl." She yawned.

"It's late."

"I know, I just wanted to talk to you."

"Oh? And you just wanted to talk?"

"No."  
She giggled.

"What else did you want to do to me Mr Ketchum?"

She sounded seductive and flirty and Ash responded in the same way.

"I guess you'll have to wait and see."

They were both quiet for a minute and then Misty softly said "Are you meeting Brock and I tomorrow?" Her seductive voice was gone. "Yeah. I am." So was his. "We can do this Misty." She nodded on the other end.

"I know we can."

"Goodnight Misty."

"Goodnight Ash."

He paused for a moment outside of the Jamba Juice and finally pushed in. He spotted Brock and Misty instantly. Or to be fair he spotted Misty instantly. Her red hair was up in her traditional side ponytail and she was wearing a yellow crop top with red suspenders.

Everything was perfect about her right down to her perfect hands which were holding Brock's. Ash felt like he'd been stabbed in the heart. He walked over to the table and sat down.

Brock waved to him and Misty avoided his eyes. The three of them made slightly awkward conversation for awhile during which Ash and Misty didn't look at one another once. For a moment Ash thought he was going to get through the uncomfortable meeting alright, but then a waitress tripped.

Ash saw the disaster coming long before Misty did. She was usually incredibly paranoid but she was so preoccupied with acting normal that she didn't notice when the waitress began to fall.

Ash moved the second he saw the waitress approaching the crack in the floor. He dashed over to Misty and although he wasn't particularly quick he had a head start and got her out of the way in time. He placed his hands on her hips and tried to protect her body with his own.

The water flew everywhere seconds later, but my some sort of miracle none of it landed on Misty. Ash felt like the whole incident had been in slow motion and everything after rushed by as if the world was trying to catch up with itself.

The waitress apologized and rushed off to get a rag. Meanwhile Brock realized that Ash was standing with his hands on his girlfriend and Misty seemed relieved if not happy about it.

"Ash." Ash stepped back and Brock scanned the scene quietly. He was pretty observant for someone who never opened his eyes. He didn't know that Ash had moved Misty out of the way to stop her from becoming a mermaid, but he did know that Ash had physically moved Misty out of the way and nothing about that made him happy.

They all stood being perfectly pleasant while the tension rose higher and higher. Finally Brock cleared his throat and said "We should be getting back. I promised my mom I'd bring Misty home for dinner. Goodbye Ash."

 **A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. My computer completely lost it's fucking mind and I couldn't get it to work**


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